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It was quite fascinating to watch when Councillor Adam Vaughan went on his personal tirade against Mayor Rob Ford last week, he seemed to be channelling the very person he was criticizing.

Vaughan, under the Ford Administration, has become exactly who then Coun. Ford was, under the Miller Administration — the official opposition.

To wit: when Mayor Ford was a councillor, he was often dismissed by many of his colleagues, not only for his penny-pinching ways, but for his frequent outbursts on the floor of council. He was referred to as “angry.” The same is now being said about Vaughan (minus the penny-pinching part) — and that anger manifested itself into a personal attack on the mayor that was completely off side.

When asked about Ford’s latest public scuffle (which happened to be with a TTC streetcar driver), this is what Vaughan told the Sun’s City Hall Bureau Chief Don Peat: “If it’s not which streetcar door the mayor drove by it is whether or not the mayor has been partying in the Entertainment District. When it’s not whether he’s been partying in the Entertainment District, it’s whether he’s been picking up liquor on Dundas St. When it’s not that, it’s whether or not he’s gone off to the cottage instead of attending Pride. Very little of what you talk about when you’re talking about this mayor has anything to do with work at City Hall and as a result his approval ratings are dropping. He’s not doing anything here, in fact he’s doing very little, he barely even shows up for work.”

And Vaughan didn’t stop there, he went on NewsTalk 1010 and drudged up the 911 calls, though there have been a few of those, he was specifically referring to Ford “trying to acquire a piece of land and he’s at home at 7 o’clock on a Wednesday night in t-shirts and shorts running around, chasing Toronto Star reporters out of his backyard. Most of us at 7 o’clock at night are in community meetings, if not council meetings.”

Vaughan then bizarrely blamed the media for asking him questions about the goings on with the mayor. It’s pretty easy to say no comment and move on to talk about his absurd motion to ban guns and bullets, or his more interesting “Two for Toronto” idea.

It is worth noting that if Vaughan succeeded at anything, it was getting his name out there. For someone who may be considering a mayoral bid in 2014, every little bit helps.

But as Vaughan considers his campaign platform, he should be reminded this type of character assassination against Ford has been tried, and failed, before.

Who could forget those mysterious signs that appeared in the flowerbeds on University Avenue just two weeks before the municipal election in 2010 screaming the words “Wife-beating, racist drunk for mayor!”

Besides, how would Vaughan feel if people started attacking him personally by comparing him to his father, for example? Colin Vaughan had a broad vision for the city, and was someone you could joke around with — his son possesses none of these qualities.

Such a comparison would be unfair.

I will say, however, that Vaughan’s overarching point, which got missed because he was so angry, was that Ford has been involved in an inordinate amount of unusual situations.

There is no doubt about that. And Ford needs to appreciate that every move he makes, even when he’s driving, is being watched and scrutinized by anyone with a cell phone camera.

It’s also legitimate to point out that the mayor has not been completely engaged when at council.

I, and others, have pointed that out a few times.

But it’s never personal.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said that she would “cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding ... if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

Vaughan would be loathed to know that Ford is having a good chuckle right now.

And if he doesn’t relent on the personal attacks, Vaughan is in danger of becoming the very thing he accuses Ford of being — a sideshow.